Euro Affects T2'009 Release In US

I called RC America yesterday afternoon to inquire about something and checked on when the new 1/10th scale electric on-road touring car would arrive in the United States. The last thing I was told was the T2'009 would arrive in December or later. They also said the first batch would be limited so XRAY recommends fans should preorder their T2'009.


Yesterday, I got to talk to Ralph Burch. He said the earliest he expects to get a XRAY T2'009 shipment at RC America is late December, but that is very doubtful. Here's why. Since RC America is importing the T2'009 from Europe a currency conversion must be done. At the beginning at each year, they lock in a Euro/USD conversion rate with XRAY. So at the beginning of this year, XRAY and RC America agreed on a conversion rate and it remains in effect until 12/31/2008. The Euro has dropped in value lately so the conversion rate will likely be lower for 2009.

With that said, here is how it effects the release of the XRAY T2'009 in the US. XRAY could begin selling T2'009 in late December for one price. When January 2009 rolls around, the T2'009 will be selling for a lower price. This is just a guess, but the difference in cost could be $20-$50 (maybe more). This is unfair to those fans who have preordered their T2'009 or the hobby shops who stock up on the first batch.


So this means it is very likely the T2'009 will not be released until early January. We're not complaining because we understand how it is more fair to everyone. If you are following me on Twitter, you got this information yesterday.